Vilano Beach Pool Deck with Pavilion & Summer Kitchen

This new construction Vilano Beach project is located on Porpoise Point, near the St Augustine inlet, intracoastal waterway, and beaches of Vilano- Just south of Ponte Vedra. Fill was added and the pool deck was built up to strategically take advantage of the water views looking to the West and South. A covered pavilion houses the outdoor kitchen and dining areas providing shade and shelter from the weather with the ability to take advantage of a small swim-up and seating area to the pavilion from the pool. The pavers used here are from Artistic Paver Manufacturing out of Miami FL. Shell Lock Atlantic Series- a paver with sea shells mixed into the aggregate honed smooth with beveled edges. 

The finished pool deck from the covered outdoor kitchen area. 

The completed paver pool deck from the children's splash area and sand box. 

The fire pit at the end of the lap pool is built in to the same elevation of the pool deck to appear floating in the pool with water all around it. This project was designed and installed by Moderna Pavers of Jacksonville FL. 

Creating an Outdoor Room in Jacksonville

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The completed jacksonville outdoor living project.​

​The homeowners started their project by constructing a typical glassed in Florida Room- a room designed to bring you closer to the outdoors. The room is climate controlled, lets in lots of light and suited a excellent purpose. But the Florida room didn't quite bring them close enough to their wonderful Florida outdoors and Jacksonville backyard area.

The next phase of the project was creating a new space- the Outdoor Room. Outdoor living as a concept has grown extensively in Jacksonville and North Florida over the last decade. The new vision of the outdoor room is the transition from a simple concrete slab or wood patio with a few folding chairs and a picnic table to a more elaborate outdoor living space with a kitchen, pavers, walls, fire pit...  limitless possibilities.

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​The homeowner approving the final layout before the paver construction begins.

Before we got started the backyard was pretty basic, with a small wood deck off to one side. The homeowners gave us a list of the features and amenities that they wanted to include and shared with us that they wanted to be able to gather in a larger group, but also have several quaint areas that would accomodate smaller, more intimate groups of people.

The first thing to get installed was the pergola. A rough cut cedar structure built with large posts and accents to suite its large scale size. The pergola was pre-stained to reduce future maintenance and prewired for ambient and grill lighting and an outdoor ceiling fan.

The kitchen components were set-  including gas, electrical, plumbing etc. and we were ready for the brick pavers. We used a product called Mega Olde Towne which is a three piece cobble paver, meaning the sides and corners of the pavers are pillowed slightly to give a cobblestone like appearance, though the surface of the paver is still flat and smooth. The color chosen was Sierra, a blend of Sandstone, Tan, and Charcoal- accenting the home, pergola, and kitchen. These brick paving stones are manufactured locally in Jacksonville.

The three tiered seat wall is also constructed in the Sierra color, providing permanent seating for the fire pit on one side. The seating wall utilized a five piece landscape wall system called Country Manor, which is both textured on the surface and tumbled for an old world, antiquated look.

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​The completed outdoor room construction project. 

After the brick pavers were installed and finished, the outdoor kitchen could be built on-site complete with a grilling station, refrigerator, lots of storage and counter space for food preparation, and a bar.

​Here is the conceptual design from Creative Design Space and the finished product.

Pre Party Planning in Marsh Landing

Before we started, the backyard was almost a blank slate​.

The owners of this lakefront home in Marsh Landing, a prestigious gated subdivision in Ponte Vedra Beach, needed a multi-functional backyard space. Each year, they throw two big parties during The Players Championship. When not entertaining large groups of people, they use the space as an extension of their house – an outdoor living room in temperate weather. “It’s an area to read under the oak tree, have cocktails and hors d'oeuvres with a few friends or coffee in the morning,” owner Anna Dennis explains.

The completed patio with tiered planter boxes.​

After getting a quote from a landscape architect and bids from five contracting companies, Dennis knew what she was looking for out of the space and out of the people she wanted to execute the project. “I felt an architect would just be an additional cost that I could transfer to larger privacy shrubs, or more pavers,” she says. “What started as just an empty space of grass and beds began to take shape in my head.”

​The chaise lounge area with inlayed plant beds and a seat wall.

Dennis decided to meet with Linda from Moderna Pavers out of Jacksonville. She says she enjoyed working with Moderna because they were willing to put in the time to come up with several different design ideas. After a month of going back and forth with computer-aided design (CAD) ideas – tweaking curves and planter sizes, Dennis settled on her ideal backyard patio space, but not before adding a driveway apron, path along the side of the house and path to the front door.

In just a few days, Moderna transformed the Dennis’ bleak backyard into a beautiful and multi-functional outdoor space including a travertine lanai with a step that extends outwards, three built-in planters, a seating wall and irrigated beds for an herb garden, flower gardens and even a space to plant a few veggies.   

​The hardscape planter boxes can also be used as a small seating wall. 

Before the project even started, Dennis knew exactly how she wanted to furnish the space. She was looking to incorporate four chairs and an ottoman, a hammock and a double chaise lounge so that she, her husband and their dog could read and relax together. “I got everything I wanted,” she says. “We use the space everyday. Whether we're entertaining a big group, a few friends or just ourselves, it is perfect.”

A small stoop from the bedroom & a path that leads from the patio to the front yard.​